1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reducing power analysis method and a reducing power analysis reagent.
2. Description of Related Art
Under oxidative stress conditions, proteins, lipids, DNAs, and the like are damaged by peroxides and free radicals generated in vivo. It is known that accumulation of such damage may lead to cardiovascular diseases, nervous system diseases, and the like, for example. On the other hand, it also is known that such peroxides and free radicals can be rendered harmless with antioxidants, which have reducing power, present in vivo. In view of this, there have been attempts to prevent the above-described diseases or to understand the pathological conditions of these diseases by analyzing the reducing power of antioxidants, which is one of the indicators of resistance to oxidative stress.
A dye reagent colored blood red by a reaction between trivalent iron ions and a cyanide fades when reduced. Thus, the reducing power of a sample has conventionally been analyzed by bringing a dye reagent into contact with a sample to reduce the dye reagent by the sample, and then, optically measuring the resulting degree of the fading of the dye reagent (Patent Document 1).